This class is a discussion-based class to familiarize students with different controversies and conspiracy theories, learn to analyze them, deconstruct them, test them with logic, reason, and facts, and exercise their critical thinking skills. It aims to help improve oral English skills, vocabulary, and research methods. Students are expected to give presentations on a controversy or conspiracy theory and lead class discussion, actively particpate in other class discussions, and take an interest in current affairs, news and media.
- Teaching coordinator: Langlois Laura Hilary
- Teaching coordinator: Mc Kirdy Lucienne
Games are essential. They can teach us valuable skills: communication, sociability, problem-solving, fast-thinking and strategy. They hone our reactions, our eloquence, our abilities to improvise, to imagine and to create. They can help us function effectively in a team or independently, train us to understand complex instructions, situations and possible outcomes. What’s more, games reflect culture and open doors to understanding others.
Are you looking for an engaging, dynamic English class where your interests and knowledge can help shape the content? There will be student-led activities, speaking games, discussions, debates, presentations and roleplays. We’ll learn about and play a wide variety of games, discuss cultural tastes and differences in game-playing, consider the role that games play in our cultural and family backgrounds, look at tech innovations and the future of the video game industry, and explore gamification in education, in marketing and in recruitment.
Contents
- Why do we play? What is “play”?
- History of games & Games as cultural artefacts
- Games as a mirror of social values & culture
- The role of games and sport in society
- Do animals play?
- Player profiles and player communities
- Age, gender, ethnicity & accessibility
- The economics of gaming
- Games & politics
- Ethics of game design
- Gamification in the media, classroom and workplace
- Tech in video gaming & future developments
The requirements? Commitment to the class, regular attendance and a keen desire to participate actively.
Ready to play? Let’s go!
Modalités d’acquisition
Participation, attitude, attendance 40%
Preparation, quizzes 20%
Team presentation and activity organisation 20%
Written assignment 20%
- Teaching coordinator: Langlois Laura Hilary
Jessica Perich Carleton
Mathematicians in History and Cinema:
English Class – Thursday mornings
This course focuses on answering the question: What is the probability of a math genius coming from nothing? In order to answer this question, the class will investigate four themes resonating from noteworthy mathematicians in history and their portrayals in popular cinema. Mathematicians examined will include: Srinivasa Ramanujan, Alan Turning, Paul DePodesta, and Katherine Globe Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. The first film challenges the theme of intuition vs proof from an informally educated young Indian man who is credited with contributions to a wide range of mathematical developments (number theory, infinite series, continued fractions) as seen in The Man Who Knew Infinity; the second film looks at computers vs people in Hidden Figures which tells the story of three African American women whose mathematical genius helped win the Space Race; next, the beginnings of developing AI and its implications and consequences in contemporary culture as seen in The Imitation Game; and finally, tradition vs originality as applied to a major league baseball team searching for new strategies of becoming more successful with less fiscal resources as seen in Moneyball. There will be plenty of opportunities to practice your spoken English, to discuss and debate in small groups, to challenge your listening skills and to express yourself clearly in writing.
- Teaching coordinator: Langlois Laura Hilary